The Covenant

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. Prov. 18:22 (KJV)

Whereas the Christian Community has at long last come to realize that dating and its attending cultural manifestations are a source of great evil;

And whereas we have pledged ourselves to obey God as revealed in His Word[1];

And whereas God, in betrothing Christ to us, His Church[2], and in myriad other Scriptures has revealed to us pattern[3] and precept[4] which we are to follow in betrothal and marriage;

Therefore we come together in community[5] and covenant ourselves together to teach, to obey, and to enforce the following principles which represent our best understanding of what God has laid out for us in His Holy Word concerning the nature and meaning of Betrothal and Marriage:

We hold that betrothal as a binding covenant involves the following parties:

1. A Father[6], or representative thereof[7], of a man of legal age to be married.[8]
2. A Father, or representative thereof[9], of a woman of legal age to be married. [10]
3. The man and woman[11] of legal age to be married [12]
4. A covenanting community.[13]

We hold that betrothal as a binding covenant involves the following act:

A formal oath or set of actions which create(s) a permanent covenant relationship, dissolvable only by divorce[14] or death[15], and implying eventual marriage, 

We hold that betrothal is a binding covenant involves the following relationships:

1. a husband who is:

a. referred to as the husband of his wife[16], and
b. having authority over his wife[17] in all matters except physical[18], and who is
c. under the authority of his father[19] in all matters not pertaining to his wife[20], and who is
d. responsible for ‘washing his wife with the word’[21], specifically

i. the word of God,[22]
ii. his interpretation thereof[23], and 
iii. his commands concerning it[24]

2. a wife who is:

a. referred to as the wife of her husband[25], and who is,
b. under the authority of her husband[26] in all things but physical[27] and who is,
c. responsible to her husband to be learning his will[28]

3. the father of the Groom who is:

a. referred to as “father[29]” by both the husband and wife, and who is
b. responsible for continuing to train his son in the ways of the Lord, and is
c. responsible for allowing and encouraging the husband to begin assuming his responsibility over his wife

4. the father of the Bride who is 

a. referred to as “father” by both the husband and wife, and who is
b. responsible for continuing to train his daughter in the ways of the Lord, and is
c. responsible for allowing and encouraging the husband in his responsibility over his wife

5. the mothers of the bride and groom are 

a. responsible as helpmeets to their husbands and are
b. referred to as “mother” by the husband and wife and are
c. responsible as older women[30] to teach wife to love and obey[31] her husband

We hold that betrothal as a binding[32] covenant involves the following process:

1. That the father of the man shall, when need so requires[33], and with all due diligence, seek out the woman who he believes the Lord would have for his son, come to the father of the woman in an attempt to get her as wife for his son[34]. And he shall make request of him adding any current obstacles and any gift which he proposed to make for the marriage;
2. That the father of the woman shall, after diligent but brief inquiry and consultation, accept or reject the proposal adding any obstacles or conditions, and any gift which he proposed to make for the marriage;
3. That if the father of the woman shall accept the proposal without conditions, the man and woman shall be considered betrothed.
4. That, the father of the man shall, if there be any obstacles or conditions, accept or reject them and
5. That if he shall accept them, or if they shall be agreed on a new set of conditions, the man and woman shall be considered to be betrothed.
6. That once the agreements have been made the father of the bride, and the father of the groom shall make a formal vow to seal the betrothal, and
7. The bride and groom shall begin to act according to their new roles as husband and wife, and according to the terms of the agreement.
8. That the groom shall, following the fulfillment of the terms of the betrothal, at the hour of his choosing, come for the bride.

We hold that marriage as a binding covenant involves the following parties:

1. A Husband
2. A Wife
3. A Covenanting Community

We hold that marriage as a binding covenant involves the following act:

A formal oath or action which continues and confirms the permanent covenant relationship, also dissolvable only by divorce or death, leading to immediate full physical union, with a goal of producing godly children.

We hold that marriage as a binding covenant involves the following relationships:

1. A husband who is completely responsible for his wife and children as their head and spiritual leader, whose body belongs to his wife[35], who is responsible to honor and obey his parents in keeping with his responsibility to God and his family.
2. A wife who is responsible to her husband, and whose body belongs to him[36].
3. The father of the husband, who continues to have responsibility over his son.
4. The father of wife, who has passed his authority over his daughter to the husband.
5. The mothers of the husband and wife, who are responsible for teaching the bride: Titus 2
6. A covenanting community

We hold that marriage as a binding covenant involves the following process:

1. A betrothal period whose conditions have been fulfilled
2. The husband comes for the wife
3. Oaths and vows are taken (or the betrothal vows are confirmed) or other actions perfomed by the husband, wife and/or covenanting community which signal the beginning of the marriage relationship.
4. Full physical union immediately follows.
   

Thus we will teach, thus we will obey, and thus we will enforce, so help us God.

[1] Romans 12:2, Acts 5:29, I Tim 3:16, Josh 24:10, Psalm 119, Psalm 19, Joshua 1:8-9, Acts 17:11

[2] Eph 5, I Peter 3, Hosea ‘betrothed’

[3] ‘Even as Sarah, Jer 35

[4] Husbands Love your wives

[5] Gen 24:4, Unequaly Yoked

[6] Gen 24:2-9 , Gen 2, Isaac, Eph 6

[7] Gen 24:2,

[8] Rom 13:1

[9] Ruth 3:1, Gen 24:50

[10] Rom 13:1

[11] Gen 2

[12] Rom 13:1

[13] Gen 24:4, II Cor 6:14

[14] Matt 1:18-19

[15] Rom 7:2

[16] Matt 1:19, Eph 5, Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:5 ‘his espoused wife), Adam and Eve (Gen 2:23-24)

[17] Eph 5:22; Col 3:18; 1Ti 2:9-15;; 1Pe 3:1;
Eph 5:22-24

[18] Matt 1:18

[19] Eph 6:1-3, Rom 1:30 “disobedient to parents’

[20] Jer 35, Deut 21:18-21, Prov 30:17

[21] Eph 5:26

[22] Eph 5:26, Joshua 24:15,

[23] I Cor 14:35

[24] Numbers 30:6-8, Joshua 24:15

[25] Matt 1:19

[26] Eph 5:22-24

[27] Matt 1:18

[28] Eph 5:26, I Cor 7:34, I Cor 14:35, Gen 3:16,

[29] Ex 21:9, Gen 37:19

[30] Titus 2:4-5

[31] 1 Peter 3:1-6, Titus 2:4-5

[32] Matt 1:18-20

[33] I Cor 7:2

[34] Gen 2:22, Gen 24:1-4, Jer 29:4-6,

[35] I Cor 7:4

[36] 1 Cor 7:4